Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice
by NewHampshireGirl
Summary: "I'm curious… what's the name of that paint color?" "Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice." Pure fluff. Tony/OC, AU, team as family, set after "Family Promise"
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimers:** I do not own NCIS or its characters.

 **Warnings:** Fluff

 **A/N:** Here is the revamped version of Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice. It was originally a one shot, but I have expanded it. This chapter does not stray too much from the original. Enjoy!

* * *

 **Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice**

After an incredibly long, tiring, rainy day, Anthony DiNozzo came home to a warm house and a home cooked meal. Besides having a warm body in his bed every night, being married also provided him with hearty meals on the table every night.

"What a day," Tony quipped, loudly, dropping his bag down by the front door. Hanging his coat on the antique coat rack, he let out a relieved sigh. It felt good to be home. He found his lock box for his weapon and locked it inside out of the reach of his son and daughter. "And to think I'm lucky enough to go back and do it all over again tomorrow," he continued as he entered the kitchen. He ruffled Jack and Tali's hair, causing the children to giggle, and went to kiss Leah's cheek. "I hope you and the kids had a better day than me."

"Well, the kids had a play date with Brennan, while Mommy went to the doctor," Leah said as she put dinner on the kitchen island. "And judging from the cookie crumbs on their faces when I went to pick them up, I'd say they had a good time."

Tony chuckled and sat down at the island next to Jack in his high chair. He reached out and ruffled his son's downy head again. Jack looked up from carefully picking through his peas and grinned, showing his trademark DiNozzo smile. "Oh, Jackson Anthony, you little charmer you. I bet you wormed your way into getting those cookies for you and your sister from Mrs. Parker, hmm?"

Leah gave her husband a healthy portion of the Shepard's Pie she had made and titled her head to one side, throwing her boys a look. "Claire has always been a sucker for those smiles. Which is why she gave me some cookies to bring home to you."

"I love that woman," Tony joked, but quickly wiped the smirk off his face when he noticed Leah glaring at him. "But not as much as I love you, sweetheart."

"If I ever suspect you of cheating on me—I'll know where to look first," Leah teased him, sending color to his cheeks. She reached over the island and pat his hand. "Don't worry, darling, I know you would never hurt me like that. I'm just messing with you."

Tony grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips in a chaste kiss. "Listen, it took me so long to find you… I would never jeopardize losing you by stepping out on you."

Leah continued to smile at him, teasingly. "Even though in just a few months I'm going to be as large as a whale?"

"Already told you when you were pregnant with Jack that I think you're beautiful when carrying my child."

"I know, but it doesn't hurt to hear it over and over again."

Tony watched as she helped Jack with his dinner, coaxing him gently to eat his ground lamb, and he smiled to himself. He never had any doubts that his wife was going to make a good mother… his doubts had been about himself being a father… but over the last year and a half with Leah's help he had grown into his role as daddy. And he loved it. Even when he'd been up late at night comforting his infant son; even when Tali had been dropped their laps, a huge surprise for both of them. "Did your appointment go well?"

Leah glanced up from her dinner plate. "Yes, everything checks out."

"Did the doctor tell you what we're having?"

"No. The baby wasn't cooperating today. Must have known Daddy couldn't make the appointment."

"Oh," Tony replied, smiling to hide his disappointment. "Next time then."

"Next time," Leah said, softly, patting his hand gently.

Tali asked for seconds on her dinner, before smiling sweetly at her father. "We saw new pictures of our baby, Abba. It getting bigger and bigger!"

Tony laughed and planted a kiss on her brown curls. "That's a good thing. It means that the baby is growing and is healthy."

Jack was not interested in talking about the baby and finished his dinner before his parents. Leah held him over with a cookie while they finished their own dinners. When they were all done Tony cleared their plates and cleaned up, while Leah took the kids upstairs for their bath. He finished cleaning up the kitchen just in time to venture upstairs and read a bedtime story. It was the part of the day that Tony looked forward to the most, those few precious moments with Jack and Tali seated on his lap while he read to them.

Leah was putting clean sheets on Jack's crib when Tony arrived upstairs. Jack was playing with some of his trucks in the middle of the room with Tali, but when he saw his father standing there, he stood, grinning and pointed towards the bookcase. "Dada, read us book?"

"Okay, give Mommy a good night kiss first," Tony instructed the little ones as he went to sit in the rocking chair.

"Night, Mama," Tali said, standing on her tiptoes to give her stepmother a hug and then the growing baby belly a kiss. She then went to crawl into her father's lap, waiting patiently for her brother.

"Mama," Jack called, holding his hands out to be picked up. Leah obliged him. "Nigh, nigh, Mama," he whispered, kissing his mother sweetly. She plopped the toddler into Tony's lap.

"What book am I reading?"

Jack leaned over the edge of the rocking chair and pulled a book off of the nearby shelf. "This!" he exclaimed, holding out his favorite book.

Tony looked at Leah, incredulously. "Jack, really? We've read _Clifford the Big Red Dog_ about a thousand times."

"Dada! Read!" Jack demanded.

"Please, Abba!" Tali added.

"You better give him what he wants or he's going to be a holy terror putting down for the night," Leah said with a shrug. "And he might have his sister on his side tonight."

Tony sighed and conceded, because sometimes it wasn't worth the fight. "Hi, my name is Emily Elizabeth and this is my dog Clifford…" he began to read and by the time the book was over little Jack was sound asleep in his arms and it wouldn't be long before Tali joined him. "No wonder you always want to hear this book… you never stay awake for the end."

Leah laughed, softly from the door and gazed happily at her family. "I think they just like spending the time with you."

"Yeah," he whispered, kissing the top of his son's head, and then his daughter's. "I like spending the time with them too."

"Ok, let's get these litte ones into bed," Leah whispered, helping Tali down from the rocking chair and walking her back to her bedroom. "We have school in the morning!"

Slowly, Tony got up from the rocking chair and carried Jack to his crib. He laid him down gently, brushed his brown hair back and gave him another soft kiss on his forehead. On his way out of the room he flipped on the nightlight and the monitor and shut the reading lamp off. He closed the door half way behind him, and turned to find his wife. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he pulled her close, kissing her temple. "How about you and I go relax in front of a fire? After running around in the rain all day I think it's just what I need."

Leah agreed but first there was something she wanted to show him before they settled down for the evening in front of the fire. "Alright, but I need your opinion on something first."

Tony was a little perplexed when she led him into the bedroom they had picked to be the new baby's room. She turned the light on to reveal that it was completely empty and there was a painting tarp covering the hard wood floors. "Ah… am I painting this weekend?"

"Yes. If you're not on call," she said with a smile.

"Maybe the contractors that are ripping our attic up right now would like the extra work," he offered.

She looked at him, incredulously. "I think they have enough work to do. After all they're turning that third floor into a master suite from scratch."

He sighed and pretended to look crestfallen. "Well, I had to try."

Leah gestured towards the paint cans in the middle of the room. "I had some time after my appointment to stop by the hardware store and pick up the paint color I wanted. But… I'm not entirely sold on it yet."

Tony gazed at her, smiling slightly. "And you want me to open the can and look at it to give you my opinion?"

"Yes, please."

"You know, the home improvement store gives you little samples to paint on the walls…"

"Anthony. You're being more aggravating than helping."

"Sorry. I will look at the color you have chosen, my love, and give you my opinion."

Tony grabbed a paint can opener and got down onto one knee. He pried open one of the cans and gently lifted the lid off. He was staring at a very pink, pool of paint of the orchid variety. "Ah… Leah…"

Leah ignored the hesitation in his voice. "I know it's really bright in the can, but the guy at the hardware store says it dries darker and that his daughter absolutely loves it."

"Um… that's great and I'm sure it's very pretty once it dries darker it's just… I don't think our son would like it very much."

"Jack? Why would he care about the color of paint we use in his sister's room?"

"This paint is for Tali's room? I thought she loved the purple?"

"She does; she tells me every day that purple is her favorite color."

Tony put the lid back on the paint and stood, rubbing his temple. "Sweetheart," he said, closing his eyes tightly as her words—all of her words—sunk in. His eyes popped open to see her smiling at him, a coy little grin and he let his hands drop to his sides, "Are we… are we having a girl?"

Leah nodded, her eyes sparkling. "Yes. I lied at dinner… she was cooperating today… but I didn't think it was special to just come out say it."

He moved towards her, grabbed her by the waist and pulled her towards him, kissing her, hungrily. She responded by wrapping her arms around his neck and deepening their kiss. Tony pulled away and leaned his forehead against hers. In six months he would be singing his little girl—their little girl—to sleep in this very room. Smiling at this thought, he asked, "I'm curious… what's the name of that paint color?"

She laughed and replied, "Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice."


	2. Chapter 2

**Warnings:** Fluff, lots of fluff because who doesn't love fluff?

 **A/N:** Here is another chapter for this story. It is an entirely new chapter that did not appear in the original story. One more after this! Please let me know what you think :)

 **cecy-** _No one is forcing you to read this. If you preferred the original version that's fine, but it is my work and I felt like revamping it to fit Tali in._

 ** _amaia-_** _Yes, there will be more! Stay tuned!_

* * *

"Abba, is there a birthday?" Tali asked when she saw that Leah had brought home a cake from their favorite bakery.

"No, no birthday," Tony replied, smiling at her. "We're celebrating finding out if you're having a baby brother or a baby sister."

Tali clapped her hands together, happily. "A baby sister! I want a baby sister!"

Jack shook his head, fiercely, "No! Baby brother!"

Tony looked at the two children with stern but loving eyes. "It doesn't matter if you are having a baby sister or a baby brother—all that matters is that the baby is healthy. We love the baby if it's a boy or a girl."

"I sorry," Jack whispered, dropping his chin. "I love my baby."

"I love the baby, Abba!" Tali assured her father, passionately. "Please don't be mad!"

Leah had been silently preparing tea and coffee for their guests that would be arriving soon, listening in on the conversation between the children and Tony. She smiled at Tali. "Don't worry, sweetie. Abba isn't mad at you. Why don't you and your brother go wash up before Grandpa and Papa get here?"

Tali took Jack by the hand and they walked down the hall to the powder room, hand in hand. Tali might only be two and half years old but she was an incredibly good big sister. Mature for her age the teachers at the daycare had noted; Leah believed the tragedies in her young life had forced her to grow-up faster than her peers.

Tony could hear the little girl instructing Jack what to do, being incredibly patient with her little brother that wasn't always so well-behaved. He wondered where her patience had come from, certainly not her mother's side of the family, and definitely not his. Perhaps, Leah's patience had worn off on her.

"Hello?" Senior's jovial voice greeted as he stepped into the house through the back door. "Where are those beautiful grandchildren of mine?"

"Papa!" two small voice shouted, followed by the sound of small feet running along the hardwood. "Papa!"

Senior might have been getting up there in age, but he easily picked both kids up in his arms and planted big kisses on their cheeks.

Tony still had trouble believing that this man was his father but he was thankful that they had been able to put their differences behind him, work on their relationship, which allowed his children to get to know their grandpa. He couldn't help but think his mother would have approved.

Tali was talking up a storm with to her grandfather. She was quite the chatter box—something she had clearly inherited from Tony. "Mama says she know if we have a sister or brother!"

"We want healthy baby," Jack said, glaring slightly at his sister.

"A healthy baby is the most important thing," Senior said, smiling at his grandson. He put the kids down and went to kiss his other favorite person in the house—Leah. "How are you feeling, my dear?"

Leah smiled at her father-in-law. "Good; a little exhausted, but nothing I can't handle."

Senior looked at Tony, sternly. "Junior, you should be helping your lovely wife out!"

Tony resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Dad, I do help her out, but there's this thing call my job as a federal agent that sometimes requires that I stay late hours to catch bad guys."

"Dada, you put bad guys in jail?" Jack asked, blue eyes filled with youthful admiration.

"I try too, buddy," Tony said, ruffing his son's hair. _Sometimes it doesn't always work out._

Jack smiled at his father. "Dada a super hero!"

Tali looked quizzically at Tony. Ever the practical child, she said, "You don't fly, Abba."

"Huh?" Tony asked, confused.

"Super heroes fly, Tony," Leah informed him with a smile.

"Well, I think they do more than _just_ fly," he countered. "Spider Man as some pretty cool webs.. Super Man has his x-ray vision…"

Leah could see that Tali was even more confused. "What Abba means is that not all super hero's fly, sweetie."

Tali glanced back at her father. "So you really a super hero, Abba?"

Tony smiled, shyly. "Not really…"

"Dada you super hero to me!" Jack proclaimed.

"Daddy is a super hero to a lot of people," Leah said, kissing her husband's cheek. "Why don't you and Tali come help me set the table?"

Jack and Tali followed Leah out into the dining room. Tony finished getting the coffee tray ready, noticing that his dad was looking at him rather funny. "Dad?"

Senior grimaced, realizing that he had been caught. "It's nothing. Since I've been traveling I haven't seen you much since the summer and well… you look good, Junior. Like yourself again."

Tony smiled, gently. "It took a while. Maybe if I hadn't been so stubborn and gotten help right away things would have gone a bit differently."

"At least you admitted you needed help. I should have done that after your mom died."

"Dad, we've had this discussion several times the last year. It's forgiven."

"You hand out forgiveness too easily—just like your mother."

"Older I get the less I want to live with grudges."

The backdoor opened once again and Gibbs stepped inside. He offered a grin as a greeting and shrugged out of his Carhart jacket. "Sorry I'm late."

Tony shook his head and picked up the coffee tray. "Don't worry about it, boss. We were just getting started anyways. There was traffic on Leah's way back from the bakery with the cake."

Gibbs frowned, slightly. "Still don't understand why this has to be such a huge production. Can't you just tell us what you're having instead of revealing it through frosting on a cake?"

"In the cake; the frosting in the cake reveals the gender of the baby," Tony corrected him with a grin. "We thought this would be fun for the kids."

"Wonder if you'll be saying that later," Gibbs snarked, "when they're running around wild from the sugar."

"I didn't think of that," the senior field agent said, eyes wide for a moment. "I could be in trouble later."

He felt a pat on his shoulder from his father. Senior smiled, wistfully, and headed towards the dining room where coffee and cake was going to be served.

Gibbs continued to look at Tony for a moment, until he finally said, "You dad is right—you look more like yourself for the first time in a year."

Tony shot his boss a funny look and then a thin smile spread across his face. "You heard that huh?"

"I did. Been thinking the same thing myself these last few weeks."

"A lot of things contributed to that, boss. Leah, therapy, the kids—the baby. Even NCIS helped me heal."

"Ziva once told you that you were loved. Took you long enough to realize it."

He smiled, sadly. "Yeah," Tony whispered, carrying the tray into the dining room. Leah had strapped Jack into his high chair and Tali was sitting on her knees, leaning against the table, eagerly waiting for cake.

Tony placed the tray of coffee down and then kissed the top of his daughter's head. He felt joy spread through his entire soul thinking about having _two_ daughters in a few months and just looking at how happy Leah was, it was hard to believe that not so long ago depression had nearly torn their family apart.

Everything was all set by the time Leah's parents arrived, dressed to the max after some fancy dinner with the Massachusetts' State Senator, but they were not going to miss the reveal if they were having another grandson or granddaughter.

Leah waited until everyone had sat down and the coffee was served—chocolate milk for Tali and Jack—and then she opened the cake box. It was a plain white, frosted cake, with a little black and white old fashioned pram on the top. She cut into the cake and served the first piece…

"A baby sister!" Tali squealed, happily. "Our baby is a baby sister!"

"Dada," Jack whispered, looking at his father with big, blue eyes, "I happy it a girl."

"Me too, buddy," Tony said, grinning at him. He leaned over and kissed his son's cheek. "Me too."


	3. Chapter 3

**Warnings:** Fluff, lots of fluff because who doesn't love fluff?

 **A/N:** I know I said there was only going to be one chapter but turns out I have more ideas. Not sure how many more chapters this will be. Hope you enjoy this one though!

 ** _amaia-_** _Yes, we totally need fluff from time to time. I think that's why I've expanded this revamp into multi-chapter._

* * *

Later that night, after getting Jack to bed once the little boy had expended all of his sugar rush energy, Tony passed by Tali's room. He could hear the little girl talking excitedly to Leah; her sugar rush had not yet worn off.

Peeking inside the little girl's room, he smiled when he saw his daughter snuggled underneath her blankets and up against his wife, rubbing Leah's tummy with her small hand. Besides Tony and Leah, no one was more excited about the new baby than Tali.

"Mama, can the baby hear me? Can I talk to her?" Tali asked.

"Yes, she can hear you, and yes you can talk to her," Leah said, smiling.

Tali continued to rub her stepmother's stomach, but she leaned in closer and began to speak to the baby, telling her little sister about their house and their family. She talked about Leah's cookies, and Tony's pancakes; Gibbs' basement and Senior's stories.

Tony leaned against the door frame and felt his heart clench. To think, if Ziva had not been killed in that fire, his little girl wouldn't know the family she had here in Washington. He was never going to know what Ziva's reasonings for keeping Tali away from him were and it certainly wasn't a good feeling knowing why Tali had eventually come to America. The circumstances still made him angry.

Leah kissed Tali's cheek, dissolving away Tony's anger even though she wasn't aware of it. "Those are wonderful things to say to the baby. She is going to be very excited when it comes time for her to come out of my belly."

"How does she come out of your belly?"

"A doctor will take her out. I'll have to go to the hospital and stay for a while."

"You come back right?"

"Yes, baby. I will."

Tali hugged Leah tightly. Tony had noticed recently that his daughter tended to gravitate towards his wife for comfort. It didn't bother him. Tali had not known her father, or a father figure, until she had met Tony in May. All she had known was the comfort and love of a mother. Leah filled the void that had been left behind by Ziva. It was a void that Tony knew he could never fill. He had grown up always looking to fill the space in his life that his mother had left behind—and he had never looked towards his father.

Leah waited until Tali had fallen asleep to move about the bed and then she let go of the little girl. Climbing off the bed she noticed her husband standing against the door frame.

Tony opened his arms to her and folded them around her, hugging her close. She took a deep breath of his scent before letting go. "I'm going to change. Is there any tea left?"

"A whole pot," Tony informed her.

"Maybe we can have some tea in front of the fire?" Leah questioned.

"That's very British of us."

"We both have British roots, so I guess it's honoring our heritage."

Tony chuckled. "I don't have any scones though."

Leah shrugged. "That's okay. We have enough cake."

He knew they had enough cake, he had spent the last forty-five minutes trying to get Jack to sleep—the little boy could only talk about wanting cake for breakfast. Tony told him they would check with Leah in the morning. "We might have to hide that extra cake from Jack. Otherwise, we'll catch him climbing the counters to get some more."

She rolled her eyes and retreated to their bedroom. Climbing the counters was a trait she strongly suggested that Jack had inherited from his father—his knack for getting into trouble. "When the baby arrives we're going to have to look into you taking some time off."

Tony winced. "Really? I just came back from a leave of absence a few months ago."

Leah glared at him slightly. "Well… I could always invite my mother."

"I'll talk to Vance and Gibbs ASAP."

"Figured you might."

He watched her get into some lounge clothes. Her belly grew bigger by the day it felt like. Tony hadn't noticed how fast her body had changed when she was pregnant with Jack—they were too nervous about becoming first time parents and many of their days were filled with reading books, articles, anything to help them prepare.

She had a glow about her; it was true, he realized, that pregnant women had a certain look. Tony had never appreciated how beautiful she was when she had been pregnant with Jack—he was lapping it up this time around. For all he knew, this baby would be the last little one they had.

Leah caught him staring and smiling at her while she pulled her hair back into a braid. "What is it?"

Tony shook his head. "Nothing. I just hope our daughter is as beautiful as you are."

"I hope that she has your big heart."

"You have a big heart, too. Chances are our baby girl will have one."

"Wish we could meet her right now."

He pulled her close, kissing her temple. It was going to go by fast enough and they would be holding their daughter. One reason for his mental breakdown had been his guilt for screwing up his wife's dreams; that seemed so far away now the closer they got to having a daughter that truly was theirs.

She tried to pull away from, but Tony tightened his grip. "Anthony. I really want to go have that cup of tea and some more cake… but you're going to have to let me go."

Tony sighed and slowly released her, even though he didn't want to let her go. "Sorry, I just… finally feel that our life is back on track, things that we had _planned_ are falling into place."

Leah studied him for a moment. His guilt had finally come out in a marriage counseling session months ago; his reason for putting her at a distance was because he felt he had destroyed everything she had been hoping for. "Please stop feeling guilty."

"I'll try," Tony whispered, eyes locking with hers. "How about some cake?"

"Finally!" Leah teased him, kissing his cheek as she made a dash for the stairs. "I never thought you'd ask!"

* * *

Tim found a plastic container on his desk the following morning, with cake inside. He was confused. Had he missed a party? It was true that he had left the office early the night before because him and Delilah were meeting with the doctor about having a baby, but he was pretty sure that it wasn't anyone's birthday.

Ellie had already started to dig into the cake that had been left on her desk. Now, Tim was really confused. It wasn't possible that they _both_ missed a party.

"Hey, where's the cake from?" he asked.

"Tony," Ellie answered between bites.

Tim looked down at the container. Both Tony and Leah's birthdays were in the summer, and they had recently learned that Tali's was in the spring. So... why had the senior field agent brought cake in? He popped the lid and looked inside; a slice of vanilla cake, pink frosting between the layers, rested on a paper towel.

Ellie could tell that he was confused and smiled as she finished her cake. "They had Gibbs over last night, and Senior, to reveal the gender of the baby. Tony says that there was a lot of left over cake."

He narrowed his eyes on the cake, immediately drawn to the pink frosting. "A girl! The baby is a girl!"

"Good job, Probie," Tony said arriving back at his desk. He grinned. "You get a cookie, or in this case, some cake."

"How does everyone feel about another girl?" Tim asked.

"Only one truly bumming is Jack," Tony said with a chuckle. "He wanted a brother."

Tim smiled fondly, thinking of his godson as Ellie went off to discuss the upcoming arrival of Baby Girl DiNozzo. He hoped that one day he'd be leaving cake on the desks of his co-workers to let them know the gender of his baby.

Tony snapped the lid back on his container, startling Tim. "Probie, don't worry. You and Delilah are going to have kids someday."

He was surprised that Tony knew what he was thinking, but then again, he wasn't. Tony knew him better than anyone on the team. "It's been a long and grueling process because of her disability. Our options are much more expensive than yours."

"Never thought of it like that," Tony said, gently.

"One thing we've learned is that we take nothing for granted," Tim said with a shrug.

Tony reached and pat his shoulder. "Eat the cake for breakfast, Timmy. You'll feel much better."

Tim chuckled as his best friend went and sat back down at his desk. Slowly he popped the lid of his cake and grabbed a plastic fork from his drawer. After eating the entire piece of cake, he decided that Tony was, he did feel better.


	4. Chapter 4

**Warnings:** Fluff, pure fluff.

 **A/N:** This probably does not come as a surprise to anyone who has been around here for a while but once again there is a glitch with reviews and I cannot reply to them at the current time. Once this is fixed, I promise I will respond to you :) Hope you enjoy this last fluffy chapter!

 **Guest-** _Thank you :) I have taken down the original stories and they are not posted any where else. I didn't want to confuse people by leaving stories up with the same title. For the most part, the revamped stories follow the original story lines, they just got some extra chapters and stuff :)_

 **amaia-** _Tali and Leah's relationship has been an interesting one to write. We never saw how Ziva was with her so its hard at times because I don't think Leah and Ziva would parent the same way but I have no idea what Ziva as a mother looked like. I do think that Tali would latch onto Leah faster than she would Tony because she would be more comfortable with women and Leah is the closest thing to what she is used too._

* * *

Several weeks later, Tony found himself home alone with the two kids on a blustery Saturday afternoon. Leah had gone out for the day with a friend visiting D.C on business and Tony had decided that it would be a good day for a movie.

Jack and Tali were snuggled against him, completely enchanted by the singing and dancing objects of _Beauty and the Beast_ on the screen, when someone knocked on their front door. Tony kissed the top of the children's heads and rose up off the sofa. He chuckled when he noticed that the kids had not even noticed he left them, eyes wide as Belle tried to escape the castle as she was chased by a pack of wolves.

Tony opened the front door and saw Tim standing on the front steps. The younger man had his hands in his pockets and he was shivering. It was then Tony realized he wasn't even wearing a coat. "Tim, it's freezing out! Where's your jacket?"

Tim looked down at his attire—a light sweatshirt and jeans—and shrugged. "Didn't even realize I left the house without one."

"Get inside before you catch a cold," Tony grumbled, grabbing his partner by the arm and pulling him into the warm house. He closed the front door. "Is there an emergency that you came down here without even bothering to put a coat on?"

"No, there's no emergency," Tim said, his pale green eyes wide for a moment as he thought about why he'd stopped by the DiNozzos' house. "Trying to process some news, I think, Delilah might have sent me out to get some milk."

 _Oh boy,_ Tony thought, gently directing Tim down the hall and into the kitchen. "Was the news good or bad?"

Tim looked at him confused. "Huh?"

Tony sighed. "The news you mentioned—was it good news or bad news?"

"Good."

"Well… good."

"What's good?"

"That your news wasn't bad news."

Tim plopped down onto a stool at the kitchen island and ran his hands through his hair. "Didn't think it was going to happen this soon. We were told it might take a few tries."

Tony patiently waited for more of an explanation but he got none. He thought about getting them a couple of beers, however, Tim's dazed state already had him concerned. He probably shouldn't be giving his partner alcohol and Leah would probably throttle him if he drank while he was in charge of the kids. "Probie, I'm confused… what happened sooner than you thought?"

Little feet padded down the hall and Jack appeared, holding his empty bowl out for more popcorn. "Dada, more popcorn, please."

As Tony got off his stool and found the bag of _Simply Pop,_ he heard Tim muttering underneath his breath _dada, I'll be called dada._ Suddenly, Tony understood as he filled Jack's bowl with more popcorn and sent him on his way to watch the rest of the movie. Softly, so he didn't startle Tim too much, he grasped his partner's shoulder. "The surrogate you hired is pregnant, isn't she?"

"Yeah… she called us… she called us this morning," Tim said. "Delilah is ecstatic. I mean I was too, and then she sent me out to get some milk and I started thinking of… of the money involved… the responsibility and I… I ended up here."

"McGee, it's perfectly normal to feel this way," Tony assured him. "Remember when Leah was pregnant with Jack? I treated her like a china doll that could break at any second because I was scared about her or the baby getting hurt."

"What if I'm not good at being a dad, Tony? What if I'm not like you?"

"You think I'm a good dad?"

Tim blinked and quickly nodded. "Yes! My dad never spent time with us on weekends. He was always working. You're watching movies and having popcorn with your kids."

Tony shyly smiled. "Well, I'm not watching the movie with them right now—I'm talking to you."

"You get my point."

"Probie, you don't have to be just like me to be a good dad."

"Any tips?"

"Sure, lots of them, but remember parenting is a learning curve, and sometimes you make mistakes."

"I don't want to be my dad."

"Then do what I did—be the exact opposite."

Tim glanced at his friend. He knew that Senior had been an absent parent, quite possibly an abusive and drunk one as well. Even last year, when Tony was clearly suffering the effects of depression the senior field agent had never taken it out on his kids. In fact, Tim wasn't even sure if the kids ever saw a difference between the dark Tony and the real Tony. "It's that simple?"

Tony laughed and shook his head. He went to the refrigerator and pulled out a couple of cans of soda. Popping them open he handed one to Tim. "God, no, it's not that simple. There are still days where I'm wondering if I'm getting this right. Some nights, Leah and I just sit in bed, and determine if the kids got through the day without a major meltdown or injury than it was a good day."

For a long time, Tim just stared at his soda can before he took sip from it. "Don't tell Leah, please. Delilah will probably kill me if she isn't given the opportunity to break the news."

He laughed. Tony finished his soda and recycled the can. "I know all about _not_ upsetting an expectant mother, even if that mother isn't the one carrying the child—I believe the rules will still apply."

"That's probably a safe bet."

"So, speaking of that… you better go get that milk before Delilah starts looking for you."

"Thanks… thanks for listening, Tony."

"Any time McGee; that's what friends are for."

* * *

Leah arrived home to find Tony, Tali, and Jack fast asleep on the sofa—the DVD stuck in a loop on the main menu screen. Popcorn sprinkled the floor, empty cups rested on the coffee table, and Leah wondered _who_ had fallen asleep first—Tony or the kids.

Reaching for the remote she shut the DVD player and the TV off, which stirred Tony. "Hey," he mumbled, sleepily, "did you just get home?"

She smiled, sweetly, at him and began to pick up the popcorn kernels off the floor. "Yes. Did you have a nice movie and nap?"

"Yeah," Tony said, grinning. He glanced at the sleeping kids. "So much for spending the afternoon with them."

"Oh, I don't know… I think they had a good time," Leah said leaning over and kissing her husband, gently. "Just remember, anytime they get to spend with you is time well spent."

Tony stretched. "I was tired from Tim's visit I suppose."

Leah's brow furrowed in confusion. "Tim came by? What did he want?"

He anxiously tugged on his ear. Tony had promised not to say anything to Leah about the baby, however his wife was very good knowing when he was lying to her. "Just to talk."

She raised an eyebrow, seeing through him immediately. "Just to talk? On a Saturday afternoon that Delilah wasn't working and he wasn't working? I don't buy that."

"I promised Tim I wouldn't say anything."

"Are you keeping secrets from me?"

"Yes… and no… I just don't want to steal their thunder."

Leah's eyes went wide.

Tony knew she had figured it out even without him saying it. He frowned as a smiling spread across his wife's face. "Please, please, just act surprised when Delilah tells you!"

She carefully lunged at him, making sure not to disturb the sleeping kids and mashing her belly against him. Her arms clamped around his neck and she softly squealed like a middle school girl. Their family wasn't the only one that was growing, and for that, she was extremely excited. Soon, there were going to be two new babies in their lives. After so many months of constantly getting bad news they deserved to be flooded with happy news.

He set her away from him and grinned. "I figured that you'd be happy but not this happy. I didn't realize that the hormones worked both ways."

Leah glared at him. "Careful," she warned him.

Tony quickly wiped the smirk of his face. "Noted."

"Have the kids had anything but popcorn to eat today?"

"I was going to order take out but then I fell asleep."

"I'll go make some grilled cheese and tomato soup."

"No… I'll get up and do it… you rest."

She ran her fingers through his hair. "I spent a relaxing afternoon with my friend having lunch; obviously these little babies tuckered you out."

He smiled once again, lazily. "It wasn't so bad."

Leah mirrored his smile and kissed his cheek. "Best part of your day?" she guessed.

Tony continued to grin while he fell back to sleep with the kids. "Yep," he whispered, "best part of my day."


End file.
